Monthly Archives : April 2018

U.S. graphic artist WINSTON SMITH will host an exhibition of his work in London next month.

Graphic Anarchy will take place at Oribital Comics on Great Newport Street on Saturday 19 May from 5pm.

Winston will be signing his work, with a slideshow and an interview with legendary UK illustrator Savage Pencil, followed by a Q&A session.

Winston’s work will also be available for viewing the following day.

Taking his name from the central figure in George Orwell’s 1984, Winston is renowned in the punk world for his work with Jello Biafra and Dead Kennedys, for whom he’s provided numerous sleeves, inserts, fliers and ads as well as the band’s iconic DK logo and the Alternative Tentacles label logo. He’s designed more than 50 sleeves in total, including work for Green Day, Lard, Swag and The Leaving Trains and his work has featured in Maximumrocknroll, Punk Planet, National Lampoon, Playboy and on the cover of The New Yorker.

The band were founde in South West London in 1976 by frontman Charlie Harper, recipient of the King Rocker award at the inaugural Vive Le Rock Awards and who just turned 74. Early on in their career the band set out to release an album for each letter of the alphabet, finally completing the task in 2017.

The Albums Volume 1 features the first 13 albums (A – M), plus two discs of non-album singles, b-sides and rare compilation tracks comprising 279 tracks in total. Covering a period when the band were at the peak of their commercial success, racking up no fewer than 7 Top Of The Pops appearances, four of the albums – Another Kind Of Blues, Brand New Age, Crash Courseand Diminished Responsibility – all made the upper reaches of the UK album chart. Engendered Species, meanwhile, includes the song ‘Down On The Farm’, which was famously covered by Guns‘n’Roses on their Spaghetti Incident album.

The Albums Volume 2 features the second half of the A-Z series (N – Z) and, as with Volume 1, it also comes with two discs of non-album singles, b-sides and rare compilation album tracks, totalling 261 tracks.

Volume 1 is set for release on 1 June, while Volume 2 will follow on 3 August.

Fast-rising powerpop-punks LUCY & THE RATS have announced the release of their debut album.

The self-titled debut album was recorded in Denia, Spain and produced by Johnny Casino and Detroit garage rock maven Jim Diamond. It’s set for release through Dirty Water Records on 25 May. It’s available to pre-order here.

Brought together in London in 2015 by Aussie punk legend Lucy Spazzy, since then they’ve travelled the world and toured the UK as special guests to BUZZCOCKS.

Lucy & The Rats are just one of the bands appearing at the Vive Le Rock/Some Weird Sin Powerpop Weekender at The Finsbury, London on 28/29 July.

Also appearing over the weekend are headliners THE BARRACUDAS and DIRTY FENCES, plus LOS PEPES, BABY SHAKES, PROTEX, ROLE MODELS, TV CRIME, FAZ WALTZ, RANDY SAVAGES, MORE KICKS and THE SPEEDWAYS.

East Anglian singer, songwriter and producer ED SYKES has his debut single released this summer.

Summoning the glam rock’n’roll 70s spirit of Bowie, Mott and the Stones, ‘Whiplashed’ includes a guest contribution from The Pretty Things’ Jon Povey, while a cover of ‘Ziggy Stardust’ on th b-side features Bowie’s longtime pianist Mike Garson.

Speaking about the single, Sykes says, “Its early ‘70s vibe captures the time that I was born into and the sounds that formed the bones of my musicality. This is essentially my ‘Get It On’ or ‘Rebel Rebel’. I wanted it to sound like a great little timeless Rock and Roll number that you feel you already know somehow. I want to remind people how great pop can be and to show people the standard that I aspire to. For me great pop and rock and roll should be instant, you have no intellectual choice you are either in or out. The sound of it, how it hits you, you know you instinctively love it so it’s not a choice. That’s what I’m about.”

Hailing from the Suffolk market town of Bury St Edmunds, Sykes was until recently a member of noted Colchester band So-Called Humans, but has been a visible figure on the local scene for many years, coming to the attention of Suffolk pop icon, John Peel, who played Ed’s tracks on his radio show.

Citing among his influences the likes of Bowie, Bolan, Hawkwind, Wire, Gary Numan, King Tubby and The Jesus & Mary Chain, most recently Sykes was recruited to produce the latest album by former Pretty Things and Pink Fairies drummer Twink, who says, “Ed Sykes has proven to me what an incredible talent he is. He guided me towards the light of the late ‘60s while producing my album Think Pink III. I hope Ed’s new single is a smash. He deserves it.”

‘Whiplashed’ is out through the brilliantly-named Maniac Squat Records on 8 June.

One Man’s Madness, the new documentary film about MADNESS sax-player Lee ‘Kix’ Thompson, goes on a tour of cinemas throughout the UK next month.

The film, which was shown as part of the Vive Le Rock-sponsored Soundscreen Festival in March, tells Thompson’s story from his childhood in North London, through meeting the members of Madness and onto major success.

Directed by Jeff Baynes and starring all members of Madness as well as Neville Staple, Lynval Golding, Norman Cook and others, the film takes its cue from the Ealing comedies of the 40s and 50s, music hall and famous BBC arts documentaries, with a nod to those great British comics down the years such as Max Wall, Tommy Cooper, Les Dawson, Dick Emery, Morecambe and Wise and Spike Milligan.

“The whole experience in the making of this Mocu has been a sheer joy,” says Lee. “Miming along to all the characters was slightly tongue-twisting. However, with the director’s patience and perseverance we got there eventually. Jeff makes a fantastic Cappuccino and his wife was most patient with my array of props, wigs and slap. Thank you to all involved, you’ve made a happy man very old!”

Italian powerpoppers FAZ WALTZ have just released a video for their new single, ‘Julie’.

The single is taken from the band’s sixth album Double Decker which is out now through Contra Records. It’s available to buy now from their website.

Hailing from Cantù near Lake Como, the trio have been around over a decade and favour the same 70s bootboy beats as their Roman colleagues GIUDA.

Faz Waltz are just one of the bands appearing at the Vive Le Rock/Some Weird Sin Powerpop Weekender at The Finsbury, London on 28/29 July.

Also appearing over the weekend are headliners THE BARRACUDAS and DIRTY FENCES, plus LOS PEPES, BABY SHAKES, PROTEX, ROLE MODELS, TV CRIME, LUCY & THE RATS, RANDY SAVAGES, MORE KICKS and THE SPEEDWAYS.

Rejuvenated Massachussetts garage-psych explorers THE PREFAB MESSIAHS have unveiled a new video for the appropriately-titled track ‘Monster Riff’ from their acclaimed comeback album Psychspolitation …Today!

“Way back in the day, a couple members of The Prefabs lived in a crappy off-campus apartment shared by a spoiled metalhead teenager sporting a giant mullet, a padlocked room full of virgin vinyl, and a massive drum set he couldn’t keep a beat on. This kid (just a few years younger than us) had nothing but contempt for our early attempts at garage-rock-pop-psych-revivalism. I traded him Alice Cooper’s Love It To Death for a battered copy of Revolver and never looked back… until now. ‘MONSTER RIFF’ is a long-delayed homage to this crazed roomie and the kind of music I spent decades snobbishly avoiding. There’s some giant guitar riffs (IMHO), bassist Trip Thompson channels a demonic Axl Rose, and somehow The Flamin’ Groovies sorta get in there too. The exquisitely animated video ties it all together with a fairly senseless melange of B-movie monsters and alternative reality Saturday morning cartoons.”

Originally existing on the Boston club scene from 1981 to ’83, The Prefab Messiahs spent the following three decades as just a memory until a Burger Records reissue of a CD-R compilation prompted renewed interest. An 8-song mini-album – Keep Your Stupid Dreams Alive – in 2015 was followed earlier this year by Psychsploitation …Today!, a full-length album of all-new material.

Psychsploitation …Today! is out now through Lolipop/Burger Records. You can buy it here.

The NEW YORK DOLLS are to have a wealth of live material and rare demo recordings compiled in a new box set.

Debuting in New York City on Christmas Eve 1971, the Dolls are widely regarded as a precursor to punk, becoming a massive influence a wide range of artists, from Kiss tp the Ramones and The Damned and on to Morrissey and Guns’n’Roses. They were briefly managed by Malcolm McLaren pre-Pistols and ex-Dolls guitarist was special guest on the fables Anarchy Tour of ’77, later returning in 2004 for a Morrissey-instigated reunion.

The 5 CD Personality Crisis: Live Recordings & Studio Demos 1972-1975 brings together early demos recorded with original drummer Billy Murcia prior to his tragic death in November ’72, and demos for their debut album in March 73. The set also features three discs worth of live recordings from Paris, NYC, Long Island, Vancouver, Detroit and Dallas, from ’73 to ’75.

Fully remastered for this release, the set also includes a booklet with full sleevenotes and rarely seen photos.

Set for release on 27 April through Cherry Red, Personality Crisis is available to pre-order here.

Canadian punk legends D.O.A. return with a new studio album next month.

Fight Back, which is set for release on 1 May, follows on from the band’s previous album Hard Rain Falling in 2015.

The Vancouver band have gone through numerous line-ups since they evolved out of THE SKULLS in 1978. Thei latest configuration sees founding frontman/guitarist Joe ‘Shithead’ Keithley joined by Paddy Duddy on drums and Corkscrew on bass.

Allegedly the first band to use the term ‘hardcore’ in reference to punk, the band have clocked up a whopping 17 studio albums and have played upwards of 4,000 shows on five different continents.

Exhibiting a strong activist ethic, the band has played numerous benefit gigs and staged protests supporting such causes as environmental issues, women’s rights, food bank benefits, and stood against war, racism, weapons proliferation, and countless other causes.

At one time an aspiring civil rights lawyer, as well as author of a book entitled TALK – ACTION = 0, Keithley has recently declared that he is standing for Mayor in his hometown of Burnaby, British Columbia on behalf of the local Green Party, announcing via Instagram, “I am going to fight for grassroots democracy where everybody’s voice is heard! I will put a stop to the heartless Demovictions that are a disgrace to Burnaby, BC and Canada. The Burnaby Greens will work towards making Burnaby a greener and more sustainable city.”

In May, the band kick off a series of 40th Anniversry dates across the US, with MDC in support. They play….

Extradition Books, the book publishing sister company of Vive Le Rock, is proud to reissue the classic book Pin-Ups 1972-82: Ten Years Of Classic Posters From The Punk, New Wave And Glam Era in a softcover coffee-table format.

Bolstered by dozens of new images and new insights from those who were there, this collection of over 200 posters – featuring iconic images of timeless artists like Bowie, Blondie, Ramones, The Damned, Adam Ant, Motörhead, Suicide, Iggy Pop, Tom Robinson Band and Lou Reed – celebrates a decade’s music and design.

Drawing on scores of personal interviews with stars, artists, photographers and fly-posting mafiosi, Alwyn Turner and Roger Crimlis tell the stories behind the pictures from a golden age of rock & roll. Adam Ant – eminently qualified as both art student and popstar – has provided a brand new and insightful foreword to this edition.

Due for publication on 11 May, Pin-Ups is available for pre-order now from Viveleshop.com.

‘Ivanka (Things You Can’t Have)’ is the second track to be lifted from the band’s Complicit EP, which represents their first new music in three years. As you might’ve guessed, it’s inspired by the daughter of the current President of the USA, and features NOVA TWINS’ Amy Love alongside Gang Of Four vocalist Gaoler.

Speaking of the track’s lyrics, which weave in direct quotes from Ivanka about herself and observations about her father, band guitarist and founder Andy Gill says, “It would’ve been easy to be extremely damning about Donald Trump and of course, like everyone else, I could have called him all kinds of names. What drew me to this subject at all was the running commentary from Ivanka in the earlier stages of this administration – it was fascinating to get a kind of explanation or justification from the daughter who had already been given an official position within the White House. And frankly, a lot of it was pretty funny. But although the characters in the Trump family are interesting, it’s more the ideologies and politics which they represent and enable which need describing.”

Strike a light! Cockney-ska roustabouts BUSTER SHUFFLE are back with a new video which they’re premiering exclusively with Vive Le Rock!

‘We Fall To Pieces’ is taken from their rambunctious fourth album I’ll Take What I Want which was released through Burning Heart Records last November.

After cruising in the Bahamas with FLOGGING MOLLY, the band have dates in Germany before accompanying THE MIGHTY MIGHTY BOSSTONES around the US, save for a couple of UK shows as guests of MAD CADDIES. Full dates are….

‘The Time Is Now’ is lifted from the band’s acclaimed album Chapter IV, their debut for Burning Heart Records, released in March last year.

Produced by Jaka Curlic (JZA CREW / PunkRock Holiday), the video was shot on tour at the end of last year and is the last to feature departed guitarist Liam.

The band recently walked away with the New Blood Award at the inaugural Vive Le Rock Awards held at the O2 Academy in London.

Having already clocked up over 100 shows worldwide since the release of Chapter IV, they now head off on a tour of the USA and Canada, briefly returning to Europe before heading for Australia. Full dates are…

NIKKI SUDDEN is to have a collection of rare recordings reissued for Record Store Day.

Originally released on the Irish label Hotwire in 1986, The Last Bandits In The World was recorded in Dublin the previous year, following the initial demise of Sudden and Dave Kusworth’s band, The Jacobites. For the recording, Sudden hooked up with guitarist Johnny Fean of Irish folk-rock legends HORSLIPS and Simon Carmody from garage-psychers THE GOLDEN HORDE for sessions produced by Horslips drummer Eamon Carr.

The Last Bandits In The World – Complete sees the original 10-track release expanded with the addition of the rare ‘Christmas Morning’ single – with Sudden and Carmody joined by sometime WINGS and DR FEELGOOD guitarist Henry McCullough, future Supernatural actor Mark Sheppard and Sam Steiger and John Connors from The Golden Horde – and the 1989 12″ ‘The Angels Are Calling’, recorded with members of THE WATERBOYS. The set is completed by the inclusion of one previously unreleased studio outtake, ‘Tell Me’.

Fully remastered at Woodbine Studios, Leamington Spa by Carmody with longtime Sudden producer/engineer John A Rivers, The Last Bandits In The World – Complete is being released through Seventeen Records as a limited edition deluxe gatefold 18-track double-album for Record Store Day (21 April), followed in May by a CD release, available to pre-order here.

L.A. powerpoppers SMASH FASHION return with a new single and they’re premiering the brilliant new video exclusively with Vive Le Rock!

‘Runs In The Family’ is the first single to be taken from the band’s fourth album Rompus Pompous which is out this month and follows on from 2014’s acclaimed debut Big Cat Love.

Blending glam, psych, powerpop and punk, Smash Fashion have been tearing up stages with the likes of Ian Hunter, Psychedelic Furs, Cheap Trick and Silversun Pickups for a few years. On the strength of this swaggering street-shakin’ party-starter, it looks like the new album will be a real gamechanger for the band.

LOUISE DISTRAS returns this month with a new single and a string of dates.

‘Land Of Dope And Glory’ is a first taste of Louise’s forthcoming, as yet untitled, album, set for release this Autumn. The album follows on from her hugely successful and highly acclaimed debut album Dreams From The Factory Floor, first released in the UK 2013 and throughout the rest of the world in 2015.

The new album was recorded in Oakland, California with Ross Petersen (Bruce Springsteen, Goo Goo Dolls, ) and Steve Whale of The Business In the producers’ chairs.

Speaking about the single, Louise says, “G.O.D. stands for gold, oil and drugs. Because in a world where God is money, it feels like the constant consumer manipulation that we as people face on a daily basis from big corporations and government stands against everything we value as human beings; peace, love and understanding.”

Louise heads out on tour this week, playing St Albans tonight and winding up at Camden Underworld on 10 May. Full dates are….

Australian punk icons THE CELIBATE RIFLES are back with their first release in 14 years.

Meeting The Mexicans: Live In Melbourne is the Sydney band’s first new album since 2004’s Beyond Respect, and the third live album of their career.

The album is a result of an increased period of activity from the band, who’ve been playing several dates over the past couple of years, including a tour with reformed Aussie legends THE SUNNYBOYS.

Recorded at the city’s Thornbury Theatre in June last year, Meeting The Mexicans features 12 tracks, half electric and half acoustic, including covers of The MC5’s ‘Shakin’ Street’ and Iggy & The Stooges’ ‘Gimme Danger’.

Speaking about the release, guitarist and band founder Kent Steedman told Vive Le Rock, “We had a long soundcheck as we had to set up for two different sets, so it was a longer than usual lead-up. This was the first time in many years that we tried an acoustic set, it went over well as always, despite its imperfections, and listening back to it the feel and humour was there, hence this CD. There’s a couple of handling errors and ‘feet into touch’ because we chose to present it as it was played, rather than fix things in production. The album has been remixed with the intent of giving an idea of the energy conveyed, rather than cleansing and polishing it. Where possible, we included songs that had not been out on previous live records. Meeting The Mexicans is perhaps a happy accident, and is a bit like an old bootleg, but this time we are exploiting ourselves. We hope you enjoy and listen to this CD in that spirit!”

Meeting The Mexicans is released as a limited edition CD here before being made available for streaming.